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Court of Protection Solicitors

What is the Court of Protection?

The Court of Protection can make decisions, and can appoint other people to make decisions, for those who lack the mental capacity to do it themselves. Principally these decisions involve health, financial affairs, property and personal welfare.

Our specialist Court of Protection Solicitors are able to advise and represent our clients through every stage of the Court of Protection process, ensuring the best care, provisions and plans are made for the individual in need of this level of protection. 

We pride ourselves on being one of the very few firms in the area able to work on Court of Protection cases for people with a degenerative condition, such as Alzheimer’s Disease or Dementia, and those with acquired brain injury or traumatic brain injuries.

What Decisions can the Court of Protection Make?

The first thing the Court of Protection does is decide whether a person is mentally capable or not of making a certain decision. If the person does not have the capacity, the court will either make a one-off order or, if there are likely to be continuing decisions that need to be made not, it will appoint deputies to make decisions for the person in question.

Other decisions that the court makes include the execution of a Will on behalf of someone without the mental capacity to make one themselves, the validity of a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA), and objections to proposed EPAs or LPAs.

The court can also decide whether attorneys or deputies should be able to make financial gifts on behalf of the person lacking capacity, and it can remove the legal rights for deputies or attorneys to make decisions entirely if it believes they have failed to carry out their duties properly.

The team of specialist Court of Protection Solicitors, here at Lanyon Bowdler have a great deal of experience in the process, and understand that the issues can be highly sensitive. Our team is qualified to undertake professional deputyship in respect of Court of Protection representation and administration.

Our supportive and personal approach has been highlighted by clients as a valuable part of our work, helping you to make the important decisions and getting the case to a satisfactory conclusion as quickly as possible.

Deputyship

If someone loses their mental capacity, but has not made a power of attorney, the Court of Protection will appoint a Deputy who will make important decisions on behalf of the incapacitated person. The Deputy will be responsible for legal and financial affairs but they may also need to make decisions about medical treatment. Deputies are appointed following an application for deputyship made to the Court of Protection.

Podcasts

Mental Capacity: A Person‘s Ability to Make Their Own Decisions 

Listen here to Neil Davies and Lucy Speed give an insight into the Court of Protection. You'll hear a segment about the history of the court, and the use of archaic terms that lasted centuries. They also talk about the Britney Spears case and how this would have been dealt with differently in the UK.

Why it Pays to take Proper Legal Advice

In this episode, you'll hear solicitors Edward Rees and Neil Davies discuss the importance of good legal advice in relation to The Court of Protection, Lasting Powers of Attorney, Wills, and estate administration.

Legal 500 & Chambers UK Recommendations

The Court of Protection Team is recognised in Tier Four of the 2023 edition of The Legal 500, the edition states ‘Lanyon Bowdler deals with a range of complex property and affairs matters as well as receiving an increasing number of instructions on contested welfare cases and the transfer of deputyships from other firms. The department manages approximately 60 deputyships and trusts with assets in excess of £10m under the leadership of Neil Davies.' 

A past edition of Chambers UK High Net Worth Directory describes Lanyon Bowdler as a "very well-established, well-known Shropshire firm," says a market insider, adding that this "full-service firm is recognised in Shrewsbury in many practice areas."The private client team advises clients on wills, trusts and the administration of estates, and is considered to be "very strong on Court of Protection work."

What is legal authority?

Having legal authority means that you are allowed to make decisions on another person's behalf. If legal authority is given to you by the court of protection, your legal responsibility will continue after the person who has been made a deputy dies.

A local council or NHS trust may be able to apply for legal authority over an individual if there is evidence that this would help them protect their interests or meet their needs better than anybody else could do so.

What does lacking mental capacity mean?

Lacking mental capacity means that a person doesn't have the legal capacity to make decisions for themselves. This could be because they are unwell, or it may mean that their condition is permanent and long-term.

How can people lose their mental capacity?

There are a number of ways in which people can lose their mental capacity. These include mental illness, if they have suffered brain damage due to an accident or through medical negligence for example. Sometimes, people are able to make decisions for themselves about certain things, but not others. This is called 'partial capacity'.

Expert Legal Advice for the Court of Protection Process

If you are worried that the legal process for appointing legal authority is not working properly, or if there is a disagreement about who should have legal authority over an individual, our experienced Court of Protection Solicitors can help.

Talk to the Court of Protection Solicitors at Lanyon Bowdler

Our Court of Protection department manages approximately 60 deputyships and trusts with assets of approximately £100 million, putting it on a par with other nationally recognised Court of Protection practices.

We would be happy to advise you on every aspect of the Court of Protection process and the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Please give our Court of Protection team a call for a friendly, confidential, conversation about how we can help support you through the entire. Our conversations to initially advise you are course completely free of charge and there is no obligation attached. Please contact a member of the team or complete our online enquiry form toward the top of this page on the right-hand side. We can also arrange a home visit if more convenient.

Lanyon Bowdler has offices in Shrewsbury, Bromyard, Hereford, Ludlow, Oswestry, Telford, and Conwy in North Wales.

We regularly act over Court of Protection matters for clients following Serious Brain Injury Claims across Shropshire, Herefordshire, Mid and North Wales, Birmingham and the Midlands. As a leading national law firm, we can represent you wherever you live in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

 

Testimonials

All staff are incredibly knowledgeable and at times have been very supportive during what have been some extremely distressing periods. They are always approachable and listen to everything and make a decision based on facts.

- Anon

A quality threshold and client centred approach which never wanes. A well balanced quality of fairness with strategies to achieve the best possible outcomes for all individuals. Impressed by professionalism, work ethics, attention to detail and approachability.

- Anon

Always really happy with the service that I receive from the team.

- Stephen Farnfield

Incredibly easy to work with, I feel like we have a team approach when we work together to solve quite complex scenarios.

- Rachel Dodwell

Approachable, respond promptly, fair and reasonable. 

- Rachel Dodwell

Always get straight back to you with any questions I ask of them, sorting out any issues straight away.

- Sandra Embrey

Very friendly staff and efficient service provided. Excellent team to work alongside! Overall positive relationship with the team.

- Rachael Derbyshire

I am pleased when I call the team that they all know what is going on and will pass messages on safely. 

- Jennifer Whittall

Case Studies

Care Agency Contract Terminated and Father Receives Payment Direct

D was injured in a road traffic collision several years ago and his personal ...

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Lady Financially Abused by Son

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Successful Application for Contract to be Terminated

D was injured in a road traffic collision several years ago and his

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Lady Lacking Capacity has Cash Withdrawn by Family Member

W was an elderly lady who lacked capacity to manage her financial affairs. Sh...

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Serious Brain Injury

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